Young's LSC coordinator Deborah Odeneal said the next council will have a key role in helping to determine how the longer school day will be used. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced last week that all CPS elementary schools would be extended from five hours and 45 minutes to seven hours.

"We don't know how that will work out," Odeneal said to AustinTalks. Candidate Truss said the longer school day debate is not over, and the next LSC will be instrumental in making it work effectively for Ella Flagg, 1434 N. Parkside.

Truss said there's been talk from Chicago Public Schools that teachers will have a prep period next school year, but he wonders who will watch the children during that time.

"Who's going to cover the classrooms?" he said. "How are you going to pay for it?"

He said his goal if elected as a LSC community representative is to help the LSC understand the power it possesses, and to "use it effectively to be the best advocates for their school."

Of the six community candidates, three filled out the optional candidate statement portion of their applications, which the school made available to AustinTalks. A total of seven candidates also applied for one of the six parent spots on the council - Mary Alexander, Melinda Banks, Faye Edwards, LSC chairwoman Earlean Green, Latisha Lee, Lavette Smith and Marvin Sykes.

Current parent LSC representative who's up for reelection, Latisha Lee, wrote in her candidate statement that she's volunteered in the school's lunchroom, among other assignments, for more than six years.

"My plan, if I am reelected, is to make a difference in Ella Flagg Young children lives in a positive way," she wrote.

The school councils, which typically meet once a month, consist of six elected parents; two community representatives; two teachers; one school staff member who is not a teacher; and the principal. The chair of the Local School Council is elected by the council and must be a parent.